Michael E. Ryan

{{Infobox military person

|name= Michael E. Ryan

|image= Michael Ryan, official military photo.jpg

|image_size=

|alt=

|caption=Official portrait as Chief of Staff of the Air Force

|nickname=

|birth_date= {{birth date and age|1941|12|24}}

|birth_place= San Antonio, Texas, U.S.

|death_date=

|death_place=

|placeofburial=

|allegiance= United States

|branch= United States Air Force

|serviceyears= 1965–2001

|rank= General

|unit=

|commands= Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
Allied Air Forces Central Europe
U.S. Air Forces in Europe
16th Air Force
Allied Air Forces Southern Europe
432nd Tactical Fighter Wing
61st Tactical Fighter Squadron

|battles= Vietnam War
Operation Deliberate Force

|awards= Defense Distinguished Service Medal (3)
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit (3)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Full list

|relations= General John Dale Ryan (father)

|laterwork=

}}

Michael Edward Ryan (born December 24, 1941) is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) general and was the 16th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force from October 1997 to September 2001. He served as the senior uniformed USAF officer responsible for the organization, training and equipage of 700,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he and the other service chiefs functioned as military advisers to the Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and the President.

Military career

File:Ryan Ryan.PNG from his father, General John D. Ryan in 1969.]]

File:General Michael E. Ryan speaks at the montgomery Civic Center.jpg.|alt=]]

File:Michael Ryan and Steve Rainey 20000111 000044a - (cropped).jpg.|alt=|247x247px]]

Born in San Antonio, Texas in 1941,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_yYzAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Michael+E.+Ryan%22+born+san+antonio&pg=PA513|title = Nominations Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, First Session, 105th Congress: Hearings Before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress, First Session, on Nominations of William S. Cohen; Federico F. Peǹa; Keith R. Hall; Gen. Wesley K. Clark, USA; Lt. Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, USMC; Rudy F. De Leon; John J. Hamre; Gen. Henry H. Shelton, USA; Gen. Michael e. Ryan, USAF; Adm. Harold W. Gehman, Jr., USN; Lt. Gen. Charles e. Wilhelm, USMC; Dr. Jacques S. Gansler; Lt. Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, USA; Lt. Gen. John A. Gordon, USAF; Robert M. Walker; Jerry MacArthur Hultin; F. Whitten Peters; William J. Lynn III, January 22; February 5; March 6; July 9, 17, 24; September 9, 16; October 1, 23, 30; November 8, 1997|year = 1998| publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |isbn = 9780160562556}} Ryan entered the U.S. Air Force after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy in 1965;{{cite book |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/usafayearbooks/1965.pdf |title=Polaris |date=1965 |volume=7 |page=148 |publisher=U.S. Air Force Academy |access-date=24 February 2022}} he was a graduate of Omaha Creighton Prep High School. Ryan's father, General John Dale Ryan, was the 7th Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, from 1969 to 1973.

He flew combat missions in Southeast Asia, including 100 missions over North Vietnam in the F-4 Phantom II, as part of the 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron based at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand from October 1967 to August 1968. He went through Squadron Officer School in 1969 and the Fighter Weapons Instructor Course at the USAF Fighter Weapons School during 1970. From 1971 to 1973, Ryan served as an exchange officer with the Royal Australian Air Force flying the Mirage III. He attended Air Command and Staff College and earned an MBA from Auburn University in 1976. Ryan went to the National War College in 1984. During 1988, Ryan partook in the National Security Program at John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Over his career, Ryan held command at the squadron, wing, numbered air force and major command levels. He also served in staff assignments at the major command level, and in the Pentagon on both the Air Staff and the Joint Staff.

His first assignment as a lieutenant general in 1993 was as the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the duties of which encompassed being the senior military liaison over at the U.S. Department of State and travelling overseas with the Secretary of State.{{cite web|title=Opening Remarks and Introduction: Civil-Military Affairs and U.S. Diplomacy|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/s/p/of/proc/tr/10590.htm|publisher=2001-2009.state.gov|accessdate=9 August 2022}}

As Commander of Sixteenth Air Force at Aviano Air Base and Allied Air Forces Southern Europe in Naples, from 1994 to 1996, Lieutenant General Ryan directed the NATO air combat operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, including the bombing missions of Operation Deliberate Force, which created the context for the U.S. to broker the Dayton Peace Accords between the parties in conflict. Ryan personally approved every NATO target during the two-week Operation Deliberate Force campaign.{{cite web|title=April|url=http://www.afa.org/media/reports/april.asp|publisher=www.afa.org|accessdate=3 October 2016|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210040346/http://www.afa.org/media/reports/april.asp|archivedate=10 February 2012}} During his tenure, USAF captain Scott O'Grady was shot down in an F-16 Fighting Falcon in early June 1995 over Bosnia by a surface-to-air missile launched by the Army of Republika Srpska. O'Grady was rescued a week later.

Before assuming the Chief of Staff position, General Ryan was from April 1996 to October 1997 dual-hatted as Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Commander of Allied Air Forces Central Europe, with headquarters at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. President Bill Clinton announced the nomination of General Ryan as Chief of Staff of the Air Force on July 31, 1997.{{cite web|title=William J. Clinton, Statement on the Nomination of General Michael E. Ryan To Be Air Force Chief of Staff|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-the-nomination-general-michael-e-ryan-be-air-force-chief-staff|publisher=www.presidency.ucsb.edu|accessdate=9 August 2022}}

During Operation Allied Force in April 1999, General Ryan made taskings to improve the capability of the Predator drone to collect time-sensitive intelligence for targeting, the results of which would later prove useful in Operation Enduring Freedom.{{cite book |last1=Grissom |first1=Adam R. |last2=Lee |first2=Caitlin |last3=Mueller |first3=Karl P. |date=2016 |title=Innovation in the United States Air Force: Evidence from Six Cases |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1200/RR1207/RAND_RR1207.pdf |location= |publisher=RAND Corporation |pages=74–80 |isbn=978-0-8330-9184-0 }} General Ryan formally retired from the U.S. Air Force on October 1, 2001: although the first day on the job of his successor, General John P. Jumper, was on September 11, 2001.{{cite web|title=A general's story and reflections on 9/11|url=https://www.leidos.com/insights/generals-story-and-reflections-911|publisher=www.leidos.com|accessdate=9 August 2022}}

Awards and decorations

File:Air Force Chief of Staff General Michael E. Ryan with Secretary of the Air Force F. Whitten Peters.jpg F. Whitten Peters at The Pentagon in 2001.|alt=|247x247px]]

File:Generals Latiff, Myers and Ryan outside the Cheyenne Mountain Complex tunnel entrance.JPEG (CINCNORAD/USCINCSPACE/COMAFSPC) standing outside the North portal at Cheyenne Mountain Complex on September 1, 1999.]]

class="wikitable"

style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"

| colspan="2" |Other accoutrements

align="center" |130px

|Command Air Force Pilot Badge

align="center" |90px

|Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge

class="wikitable"

style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"

| colspan="2" |Personal decorations

{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=oak|name=Defense Distinguished Service ribbon|width=60}}

|Defense Distinguished Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters

{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|name=Air Force Distinguished Service ribbon|width=60}}

|Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|name=Distinguished Service Medal ribbon|width=60}}

|Army Distinguished Service Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|name=Navy Distinguished Service ribbon|width=60}}

|Navy Distinguished Service Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|name=Coast Guard Distinguished Service ribbon|width=60}}

|Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=oak|name=Legion of Merit ribbon|width=60}}

|Legion of Merit with two bronze oak leaf clusters

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|name=Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon|width=60}}

|Distinguished Flying Cross

{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=oak|name=Meritorious Service ribbon|width=60}}

|Meritorious Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters

{{ribbon devices|number=11|type=oak|name=Air Medal ribbon|width=60}}

|Air Medal with two silver and one bronze oak leaf cluster

{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=oak|name=Air Force Commendation ribbon|width=60}}

|Air Force Commendation Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters

style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"

| colspan="2" |Unit awards

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=AF Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon.png|width=60}}

|Presidential Unit Citation

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|name=Joint Meritorious Unit Award-3d|width=60}}

|Joint Meritorious Unit Award

{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|other_device=v|name=Outstanding Unit ribbon|width=60}}

|Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor device and bronze oak leaf cluster

{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=oak|name=Organizational Excellence ribbon|width=60}}

|Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with two oak leaf clusters

style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"

| colspan="2" |Service awards

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|name=Combat Readiness Medal ribbon|width=60}}

|Combat Readiness Medal

style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"

| colspan="2" |Campaign and service medals

{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|name=National Defense Service Medal ribbon|width=60}}

|National Defense Service Medal with two bronze service stars

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|name=AFEMRib|width=60}}

|Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|name=Vietnam Service Ribbon|width=60}}

|Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze service stars

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|name=Armed Forces Service Medal ribbon|width=60}}

|Armed Forces Service Medal

style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"

| colspan="2" |Service, training, and marksmanship awards

{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon.svg|width=60}}

|Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon with bronze oak leaf cluster

{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=oak|ribbon=U.S. Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon.svg|width=60}}

|Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon with two bronze oak leaf clusters

{{ribbon devices|number=8|type=oak|ribbon=Air Force Longevity Service ribbon.svg|width=60}}

|Air Force Longevity Service Award with silver and three bronze oak leaf clusters

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=USAF Marksmanship ribbon.svg|width=60}}

|Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Air Force Training Ribbon.svg|width=60}}

|Air Force Training Ribbon

style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"

| colspan="2" |Foreign awards

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Order of Aeronautical Merit-Grand Cross-Chile.png|width=60}}

|Chilean Grand Cross of the Order of Aeronautical Merit

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Tong-il Security Medel Ribbon.svg|width=60}}

|South Korean Order of National Security Merit, Tong-il Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|name=JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 1Class BAR|width=60}}

|Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, 1st Class

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) blank BAR.svg|width=60}}

|Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Order of the Crown of Thailand - 1st Class (Thailand) ribbon.svg|width=60}}

|The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand, 1st Class

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|name=GER Bundesverdienstkreuz 5 GrVK Stern 218px|width=60}}

|Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Knight Commander's Cross

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=ESP_Gran_Cruz_Merito_Aeronautico_(Distintivo_Blanco)_pasador.svg#mw-jump-to-license|width=60}}

|Spanish Grand Cross of the Order of Aeronautical Merit

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Pingat_Jasa_Gemilang_(Tentera)_ribbon.png|width=60}}

|Singaporean Meritorious Service Medal (Military)

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=BRA_Ordem_do_M%C3%A9rito_Aeron%C3%A1utico_Grande_Oficial.png|width=60}}

|Brazilian Order of Aeronautical Merit, Grand Officer

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|name=Legion Honneur Commandeur ribbon|width=60}}

|French Legion of Honour, Commandeur Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Order of Orange-Nassau ribbon - Commander.svg|width=60}}

|Netherlands Order of Orange-Nassau w/ swords, Commander

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Vietnam_gallantry_cross_unit_award-3d.svg|width=60}}

|Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Award

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|name=NATO SFOR ribbon bar|width=60}}

|NATO Medal for Former Yugoslavia

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=SICOFAA Legion of Merit.jpg|width=60}}

|SICOFAA Legion of Merit Officer Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon with 60- clasp.svg|width=60}}

|Vietnam Campaign Medal

Effective dates of promotion

{{USAF DOR O-10|June 9, 1965|Dec. 9, 1966|June 13, 1968|June 1, 1976|Apr. 1, 1979|July 1, 1981|May 1, 1988|Jan. 1, 1991|May 10, 1993|Apr. 4, 1996}}

{{cite web |title=GENERAL MICHAEL E. RYAN |url=https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/105755/general-michael-e-ryan/ |website=The official website of the U.S. Air Force |publisher=United States Department of Defense |access-date=2 March 2021}}

Popular culture

General Michael E. Ryan appeared as himself in the Stargate SG-1 4th season episode 19 "Prodigy", a cable television series filmed in Canada receiving technical assistance from the Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office.{{cite web|title=Portfolio: Stargate SG-1|url=http://www.airforcehollywood.af.mil/stargatesg1.html|publisher=www.airforcehollywood.af.mil|accessdate=10 August 2022|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051108165438fw_/http://www.airforcehollywood.af.mil/stargatesg1.html|archivedate=8 November 2005}} He agreed to guest-star on Stargate SG-1 because as he put it, "The ideas that come out of science fiction are often more science than fiction." It also appealed to Ryan's sense of wonder, "The exploration of our own solar system is this century's challenge. It would be a big surprise to find a Stargate out there."{{cite web|title=Air Force chief of staff will appear on sci-fi series|url=http://www.af.mil/news/Jan2001/n20010126_0115.shtml|publisher=www.af.mil|accessdate=10 August 2022|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20010304053230/http://www.af.mil/news/Jan2001/n20010126_0115.shtml|archivedate=4 March 2001}} Lead actor Richard Dean Anderson later recalled asking General Ryan off camera if he had subordinates as irreverent as Anderson's character Jack O'Neill. According to Anderson the reply was, "Son, yes. We've got colonels like you and worse."{{cite AV media | people =Richard Dean Anderson (actor) | title =Stargate SG-1 (season 8) | chapter =SG-1 Beyond the Gate: An Air Force Experience with Richard Dean Anderson | medium =DVD | date =4 October 2005 | publisher =Metro Goldwyn Mayer }}

References

External links

[https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/105755/general-michael-e-ryan/ Official USAF Biography]
[https://www.c-span.org/person/?57184/MichaelRyan Appearances] on C-SPAN

{{Succession box|title=Commander of United States Air Forces Europe |before=Richard E. Hawley |after=John P. Jumper |years=1996–1997 }}

{{Succession box|title=Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force |before=Ronald R. Fogleman |after=John P. Jumper |years=1997–2001}}

Category:1941 births

Category:Living people

Category:United States Air Force Academy alumni

Category:Squadron Officer School alumni

Category:Air Command and Staff College alumni

Category:Auburn University alumni

Category:National War College alumni

Category:Harvard Kennedy School alumni

Category:Chiefs of staff of the United States Air Force

Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit